


Anxiety

by TheNewestCompanion



Category: Benedict Cumberbatch - Fandom, British Actor RPF
Genre: Anxiety Disorder, Emotional Baggage, F/M, OCD, Panic Attacks, Past Abuse, Social Anxiety
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-06
Updated: 2014-04-23
Packaged: 2018-01-14 17:16:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1274599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNewestCompanion/pseuds/TheNewestCompanion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Benedict Cumberbatch has given up on finding love. He’s decided to throw himself into work and his daily routine of late nights by himself and early mornings on set. He was more then happy to dedicate his life to his work. Well, a wife and kids would be more then great, but now wasn't the time to worry about that. He was content and didn’t intend for anything to change.</p>
<p>Hailey Marie Black has always been a hopeless romantic at heart, but her intense social anxiety, and slight case of OCD has prevented her from anything more than staring dreamily as others around her fell in love and started families. She was perfectly happy with her life, of course. Well not happy. More like content with the things she couldn’t change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Back Ache

**Author's Note:**

> I want you all to know, all events in this story are completely and obviously fictional. Of course it is taking place in a realistic setting and what not, but I do not personally know any of these characters, so I am merely using what I do know and making up the rest. And I’ll have you know I don’t live in England. So any slang/locations/or anything of that sort has been researched as best I could. So if you find anything very wrong, feel free to tell me.

 

 

Benedict Cumberbatch’s back was killing him as he sat in one of the most uncomfortable chairs he’d ever had the disdain of sitting in. This is why he hated having to go on location to film things, and to make it worse, it was their first day back filming for Christ Sake! His arse was numbing as two women continued to bustle about him, fixing his hair ‘just so’ and ‘oh no! a bit more blush here!’

  
It was just short of hellish. After what felt like hours more in this stupid wooden chair, both woman stepped back to admire their work. Benedict smiled at them when he was told he was finished, humming a soft smile before standing.

  
He stood and stretched his legs, letting out a small groan of relief, and moving to crack his back, “Fucking hell.” He stated bluntly to know one in particular.  
“Shouldn’t curse like that, you blooming tit.” Martin Freeman said, coming to stand next to his mate. Benedict laughed, hearing Martin, who cursed like a drunken sailor, tell him to stop cursing was a right laugh.

  
“Rich, coming from you, you old codger.” He clapped him friend on the back and the shorter man rolled his eyes, cracking a smile. The two continued to their banter for a bit before Ben heard their names being called and he nodded towards the set, “I think they’re ready to begin, mate. After you.”

  
The two made their way over to where they were filming, and both removed their heavy winter jackets that had been keeping them warm in between scenes.

  
“Fancy a drink once were out of this damned cold?” Martin asked him, stomping his feet slightly to stay warm and looking at his friend. Ben nodded and shot him a grin.

  
“Abso-fucking-lutely.” He assured before someone yelled places, and Benedict jumped back into his character, back straightening and face hardening. It was good to be back.  
A few hours later.

 

 

Hailey twitched nervously as her baby blue eyes darted dangerous fast around the small room. She felt her heart rate pick up and her breathing started to come out short and ragged. Oh my God. Oh my God. I’m not breathing. I’m not breathing and I’m going to pass out, and no one will notice me, and I’m going to die! I’m dying! Oh my God! She thought to herself as she started to, once again, panic.

  
Hailey felt a firm hand on her arm and she jumped, letting out a small scream and whipping around. Now someone was going to kill her! Blue eyes met brown and Hailey automatically calmed. Anna.

  
“Anna! Oh my God, thank God you’re here.” She gushed, “You.. I wasn’t breathing! And- And I know I’m supposed to count to ten when I get nervous! But it’s so crowded tonight! And Someone bumped into me! And I-I-” Anna rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to give her best friend a shove.

 

“And you-you need to shut up.” Anna hissed before grabbing Hailey, maybe a bit too roughly and pulling her back behind the counted.

  
The two were wearing matching uniforms. Well not matching, but it was obvious they both worked at the same place. And that place was this bar. Besides that, they were polar opposites. Compared to Hailey’s pale porcelain skin, Anna’s tan skin looked even tanner. Anna continued to pull on her friend, who was a good few inches shorted. Once in the back room, Anna turned to look at the woman, who, after yet another work related panic attack, looked both flushed and clammy. Her face softened. This time when she spoke, there was a clear Spanish accident.

  
“NIño, my love.” She started, voice soft as she brushed slightly sweaty hair from her best friend’s face, “You know I love you to death. But.. I risked my culo for you getting you this job.” She reminded, in the most gentle way. Hailey nodded her head as she listened to the woman’s words. “I’m sorry, but sweets, you are thirty two years old, you can’t keep having these attacks!” Hailey sniffled and looked down at her feet nervously. Nervous. That was something she always was, unless Anna was around. Anna was her savior.

  
“I-I know.. B-but the Doctor said it would get better with time.. and-” Anna stomped her foot out of frustration, and the smaller woman jumped. She didn’t fair well when people got upset.

  
“That was when you were twenty! That was ages ago! You never even went back to see him!” She scolded. Hailey smiled slightly.

  
“He made me nervous.” The friends were both silent for a moment, regarding each other with serious faces before they both broke into fitful laughter.

  
“Of course he did, you perra!” Hailey laughed harder and shook her head.

  
“Hey now! I don’t speak Spanish but I know enough to know you’ve just called me a name!” They both attempted to calm themselves down and Anna wiped a small tear from her eye.

  
“God..” She whispered smiling at her friend another moment before becoming serious again. “But really, my amor. You need to go back. If not for yourself. For me. One more serious attack and Sean’s gonna fire you. And I can’t pay our rent all alone.” She said patting her friends arm gently. “Please try and make it through tonight. Go out back and have a fag if it gets to be too much.” Hailey shook her head and smiled.

  
“I’m trying to quit, like you told me. For my health.” Smoking did relax her. But when she did dissolve into a fit, She always lost her breath much quicker than she should.

  
“Of for fuck- Smoke the damn cigarettes. We’ll work on quitting after we work on your mental health.” She winked. “Now get your little culo out there are start taking orders!” Hailey laughed, feeling much more relaxed. She smiled at her friend and nodded her head before disappearing out of the room, confident in taking on the evening. Anna watched her go and sighed sadly to herself.

 


	2. Beers and Bets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Martin get a few beers and meet a very nervous waitress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

 

 

Benedict and Martin walked side by side down the crowded London street, laughing and pushing into each other slightly. As corny as it sounded, Ben felt high on life. After the uncomfortable chair incident, his first day back went swimmingly.

  
“How ‘bout here.” Martin said, pointing to a rather upbeat and ‘clubish’ looking place. Ben made a face and shook his head eyes leaving the building to scan the rest of the block. Martin sighed and rolled his eyes, “I can never get you out anymore! All you want to do is sit and drink your tea, we should dance!” Martin teased, doing some sort of horrible foot movement.

  
“When did you become my girlfriend?” He asked while Martin merely laughed harder, “I’m just not up for big crowds tonight. We need to chat and catch up. I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

  
“Yeah? And when did you become my girlfriend?” He asked in return, “Alright, let’s go to some nice quiet pub so we can talk about our feelings.” He winked, “How about there?” Ben looked at the new place his mate was pointing to and nodded his head in approval before following the short, yet speedy man across the street and towards the Pub. Iron Gates. He thought to himself Nice name I suppose.   
  
They got inside and Martin went straight up to the bar, plopping down. Benedict sat next to him and looked around. It was bit more crowded then he would have thought, but it was nice. There was quite, calm music and plenty of what looked like couples and friend out to have a pint. They waited a few moment and no one came to take their order. Martin reached out and grabbed a young woman’s arm as she passed.

  
“Hey, can I order with you?” He asked giving her a smile.

 

Anna looked down at the man who grabbed her arm and internally cursed Hailey, who was probably having a quick fag, “Uh, actually your waitress will be back in in a sec, can ya wait hon?” She asked, smiling at the two.. well.. brilliantly attractive men. Both nodded and she gave them a reassuring smile that fell from her face as soon as she turned.

I’m going to kill that adorable piece of work She thought to herself before going behind the bar into the break room that she and Hailey had been in earlier. She went to the back door and opened it, not even looking to see if her friend was there before calling, “Two gents at the bar! Both look cute! No wedding rings! Go ask their order!” She yelled before letting the door slam.

 

Martin waited for the woman to walk away before turning to Ben with a knowing look, “Pity she isn’t our server, eh? Pretty young thing. You should get her number.” Ben smirked slightly and shook his head.

 

“No interested in picking up our server Martin.” He assured before cracking his neck, “God I am achy!” He complained. Martin once again smiled knowingly.  
  
“That my Cumberbatch is called ‘Old Age’ he said, tinge of sadness in his voice. They two men were no longer kids. And it was late nights like these that reminded them. Ben opened his mouth to talk when they were interrupted by a woman’s voice.

  
“C-Can I get you t-two a drink.” She stuttered at them and both Martin and Ben’s face softened slightly. She was either a fan. Or just a poor dear with a stutter. Ben gave her a once over, and decided she wasn’t a fan. And then just one more look over because well.. She was pretty. And apparently so nervous that it wasn’t like she was watching him anyway.

  
“I’ll have a Fullers London Porter.” Martin ordered, also giving the small woman a once over. She nodded and managed to train her eyes on Ben, who nearly blushed, when he was caught staring at her.

  
“I, uh, will have the same.” He decided. She nodded and without another word turned quickly to go get the beers.

  
Martin leaned in and smirked slightly, “Okay, so maybe it wasn’t a pity that the other girl was busy. This one is quite the looker too.” He hinted, giving his friend a wink.  
  
Ben sighed, and look his eyes off his friend long enough to really take in the woman. She was small. Like just over five foot small. But he could tell she was curvy enough. His eyes stayed over her arse for a moment before traveling up again quickly. Nice butt. He thought to himself before shaking his head slightly.   
  
Martin watched with an amused smile, as his best mate checked out their waitress, no so subtly.

  
Ben’s eyes now got a good look at her face as she turned to face them. Heart shaped face. God, why did he even know what a heart shaped face was! He thought to himself rolling his eyes. All those damn make up ladies are rubbing off on you! Mum will have a fit! But.. The heart shaped face, it looked good on this nameless woman.

His eyes flicked down to where he thought her name tag would be and he read it as she walked closer to them holding their drinks. Too bad for him, Martin took that as him staring at her breast.  
“Eyes up mate.” his whispered to his friend as the waitress, who Ben now knew to be named Hailey reached them.

  
“H-Here we are.” She said, offering them a pained smile, “Is there anything else I could g-get you?” She asked, shifting from foot to foot. Martin smiled cheekily, winking at Benedict. He opened his mouth to say something but Ben beat him to it.

  
“Not at the moment thanks.” He said, giving her a calm smile. She, bless her soul, did her best to repeat it before turning and hurrying off. She could use another fag. Or twelve.   
Ben kicked Martin when she was out of sight, “Sod off will you mate? I told you. I’m not interested in picking up our waitress!” Martin laughed.

  
“You were fucking her with your eyes mate!” He accused his now blushing friend. “See! Look at your damn face! 20 quid says you don’t got the bollocks to ask for her number by the end of the night.” He teased. Fuck. Ben thought. He could never turn down a bet from Martin. And with a roll of his eyes both men knew the bet was on.

 

Hailey found herself in the break room, seated in a chair as Anna paced back and forth excitedly. “I’m tellin’ ya Hails! I saw it from the other side of the bar! He was checking you out!” She nearly shouted. Hailey winced and waved her hands looking up at her friend.

“Shut the fuck up Analena Abru!” She scolded loudly, looking around like one of the men might pop out of one of the cabinets, “God damn your mouth!” She hushed. Anna scoffed.

“God damn yours. Your habits amaze me.” She teased, “Cussing and smoking. Not to mention doing things in three!” Hailey blushed standing up to cover her friends mouth, hissing.

“You bloody bint!” She whispered. Anna laughed, nudging her friend with a large smirk and a wink.  
“God you can be so cheeky! Why can’t you act like this around the rest of the world? They’re people like you and me Hails.” Hailey smiled slightly and shook her head, glancing out into the bar.

“No, they’re normal people.” She corrected. Anna scoffed and looked mock offended at Hailey, who was, once again, nervously running her fingers through her Black curly hair.

Anna hated when she did that. Hailey had the kind of hair that Anna would kill for. It was just past her shoulders and if left alone fell in nice neat ringlets. But with all the finger running it usually just flattened into a wavy mess. But now wasn’t the time for that argument.

  
“No one is normal. Now you know I love you.”

  
“So you’ve said five times tonight.” She sighed, knowing something was coming and hoping that it was nothing to scarring.

  
“Yeah yeah. You know I love you. But I’m not gonna be with you 24/7 forever, you know that.. I’m gonna need to settle down. Husband. Kids. Fucking nine to five. All the works. And you need to start dating? When was your last date-”

  
“June the twenty third two years ago.” Hailey listed like it was nothing. Anna gave her a dirty look.

  
“Stop doing that. I know you know ever date ever... anyway. Hails. That’s forever ago! You need to get out there! Talk to pe-” This time Anna was cut off by a man’s voice. Their boss Sean popped his head in, smiling.

  
“Anna. Table five needs ya.” He said in a thick Irish accident. Anna cursed and rushed out of the room. Sean smiled at Hailey, “How ya doin’ kiddo?” He asked kindly. Hailey smiled and nodded her head.

  
“Good, Sean. Thank you.” He smiled once more before disappearing and Hailey collapsed into her seat once more.

Jesus it was going to be a long night. 

 


	3. Getting Familiar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Benedict gets to talk to Hailey, who tried not to make a complete fool of herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys. I know I've updated these first few chapters daily, but that's because I had them all written up and was too excited to not post them. After this they may start coming once maybe twice a week. I hope you're all enjoying it.

Hailey was out in the bar again. Tonight was turning out to be a fairly good night. Her anxiety pills were working great and she’d had no incidents since the one early that evening.

Which was not bad in her book. Not bad at all. 

She even managed a small conversation that had nothing to do with which beer tasted the best with one of the woman who was sitting at the bar! Which frankly was huge for her! 

Anna kept catching her friends eyes and every time blue met brown, blue quickly looked away. She wasn’t in the mood to get another ear full from Anna. Not before they got home at least. 

Hailey was was on a roll! She just finished taking a handsome man’s order, and managed to get through it without a single stutter. Hailey wasn’t completely incompetent when it came to people. She’d happily sit in a crowd as long as no one tried to talk to her. It was the talking that made her panic. But even then it wasn’t all the time. Sometimes she could go to Tesco, ask where the beans got moved to, buy everything. Make light talk at check out. And get a cab home without feeling nervous or out of place once. But then she had bad days. Day where even trying to talk to Anna came out in a horrible stuttery mess. 

She was cleaning some glasses and thinking of what Anna said earlier about going to a doctor again, when she felt eyes on her. She didn’t look up at first. Just continued rolling the pros and cons through her head as she cleaned. But the eyes didn’t leave her so she looked up. 

It was one of the men from early. The one who Anna decided was checking her out. Her cheeks heated up rapidly at the thought that her friend could be right. She managed to meet the man’s eyes and he didn’t look away, like most would. Like she would. But instead he smiled at her, a smile that made crinkles around his eyes. Crinkles that Hailey found to be just beautiful. Beautiful crinkles around even more beautiful eyes, and suddenly Hailey couldn’t look away, couldn’t smile, couldn’t even breath! What felt like ages was probably only seconds before Hailey was forced to break the eye contact and look down at her hands. The glass fallen from them and lay cracked in the sink.

“Fuck me.” She cursed louder than intended. She heard a chuckle. It was deep and smooth, so her eyes snapped up and back over to the man again, who gave her one more of those breath taking smiles and a small wink, like he was letting her know the broken glass was a secret that only she and he knew.

Hailey could have died there and then!

 

Benedict and Martin had chatted their way through their first beer and were now just sitting back and relaxing. Neither in any hurry to get pissed. This wasn’t an outing to get drunk. This was a catching up outing. 

He took a look around the room and saw their waitress by the sink washing a glass. His eyes settled on her face and he watched as he beautiful plump lips turned up into a small content smile. Martin was right, something he’d never say aloud, She was quite the looker. Pale, seemingly flawless skin, but he’d noticed when she was up close that she had plenty of pale freckles dotting just under her eyes and across her nose. 

He continued to study her face, not listening to Martin anymore as he rambled on. She had stunning eyes. He could see them from here. They were almond shaped, and one of the brightest blues he’d ever seen. And they were kind, and knowledgeable. As he was admiring her nose, which was positively adorable if you asked him even thought it wasn't perfectly straight, she looked up and their eyes met. 

Looking away never even crossed his mind, because now those stunning eyes were focused on him, and nothing else. And he was being selfish, not wanting her to look away. All he could do was stare into those hypnotizing orbs and offered the shy woman a smile. He was surprise when she didn’t look away, but her face when from peaceful and relaxed, to panicked in a matter of seconds. The glass she was cleaning slipped from her hand and landed in the sink with a clang. She stared another few seconds, before her eyes fell to the sink, her lips falling too into a small ‘o’ shape. 

“Fuck me.” He heard her curse, and couldn’t help the laugh that slipped out. It was rather refreshing to hear a woman cuss. He spent much to much time around those who thought it to be in bad taste. Her head snapped back up, and he nearly blushed, seeing that she heard his laugh. But instead he offered her another shy smile and wink before turning his attention back to Martin, who was smirking happily at his friend. Ben rolled his eyes.

“Of bugger off, you twat!” He laughed. Martin merely shrugged and pointed to his watch, winking.

“Remember, you’ve got to the end of the evening. Or you owe me.” He smirked, feeling like he’d already won. Ben wasn’t going to do it. He knew his friend too well. 

“I’m not going to owe you anything.” Ben grumbled. Martin had one upped him already today, guessing correctly how many takes Steven was going to make them do, “Make you a deal. I get her number, and you pay for our drinks. Deal?” He asked, offering his hand. Martin took it, laughing heartily. 

“Deal! And if you don’t. You get to pay...” Ben shared his laugh and nodded his head in agreement.

“Let’s get another round.” He offered before looking over at their pretty waitress. She didn’t look at him at first, but he could tell she knew he was looking, because she started to squirm under his gaze. He wanted to laugh again. Eventually, like before at the sink her eyes snapped up at him. He smiled kindly and waved at her, a gesture to come over. 

 

Hailey felt the stupid eyes of the stupid man on her again and refused to look up at his stupid face. She sulked for a bit as she dried each glass in her hand, jutting her lip out in a childish pout. Three times this way, then three times that, then three times once more this way. Three. Three. Three. Three times. Perfect. But this wasn’t enough to keep her from twitching at the thought of him watching her. Eventually curiosity got the better of her and she looked up at him. A smile and a wave. God. She was busy being childish, and all they wanted drinks. 

She gave a tight smile back and put the towel she was drying the glassware with down before going over to the two men.

"Break anymore glasses?" He teased, not able to keep that eye crinkling smile off his face. She noticed now, that when he smiled that wide his cheeks dipped into the sweetest dimples she'd ever seen. Her breath felt like it was knocked out of her chest, and her mouth hung for a moment before snapping it shut quickly and looking between the two.

“W-What can I get you?” She asked, quickly, words coming out as a bit of a slur. They we're going to think she was completely and utterly mentally impaired! 

“Yeah, two more beers.” Martin said, raising his empty bottle and smiling at her, “Doya got a moment hon? We’re not the most familiar with London, and my mate Benny here wanted to ask about a few touristy places.” He asked, lying right through his teeth. 

Ben went slightly pink in his cheeks as he ears burnt bright red. Thank God his hair was long enough to cover that. Hailey looked around, seeing everyone else at the bar talking happily amongst themselves. Everyone seemed content enough. 

“Sure, um, where were you thinking of going?” She asked, once again running her hands through her curls, pulling slightly at them. It was an obvious nervous habit. But it was better than stuttering her way through the conversation. Ben smiled. So the stutter wasn’t a permanent thing. Good to know. 

“Well I was thinking of seeing the Eye..” He started before feeling a bit guilty that he was going along with Martin’s stupid lie, “What would be the best time to go?” Hailey thought this over for a moment. She didn’t go to the Eye. It was way too high for her and usually gave her a panic attack just getting too close. 

“I’d say early in the day.” She murmured, twitching slightly before biting down hard on her lip. Stop. Being. Nervous. She scolded herself before letting her poor lip from between her teeth. A place where it spend plenty of time. “Busiest time seems to be lunch time. So I’d go before. Or if you rather go in the evening I think you can buy tickets for a certain time.” That was her best guess. These men didn’t seem touristy. Nor did they seem the type to want to visit a Ferris Wheel early in the morning. “Anything else?” She asked.

Ben listened as she talked, enjoying the sound of her voice when she wasn’t stuttering. He wanted to ask her why she did that, but knew it was completely and utterly inappropriate.

“Just one. Where’s a good place to eat? Nothing fancy. Just great food.” Benedict didn’t enjoy fancy places too much. Sure they were nice here and there, but mostly he just wanted good food and a calm atmosphere.

“I should say here.” She said, smiling slightly and nodding towards the booths where people were eating and drinking and Anna was watching her not so sneakily. “But if-if we’re being honest the food isn’t the best.” Was that a joke? Did Hailey just attempt to tell a joke? Oh God. He wasn’t going to get it. He was going to think she was daft. She was ready for another full on panic attack when she did in fact hear him laugh. Her eyes, which had been darting madly snapped back and she stared at him, a small look of surprise. Usually only Anna got her humor, which was fairly dry and sarcastic. Goodness she was a mess.

“Right well, being honest then.” He smiled that awful charming smile, “Great place to eat?” Hailey picked at her uniform and shrugged thinking, “A place in town called Pottlers is good. Really good. They do take away too, but they’ve got the absolute most comfy booths I’ve ever sat in. Really big red things.. and they make the best soup. You should get the chicken noodle. Homemade noodles. I don’t know how they do it. All homemade. Tiny Italian woman. All homemade.” She realized she was not only rambling on, she was also repeating herself. “I.. I’m sorry. I’m waffling on...” She blushed, taking a small step to feel less crowned by the two men.

“You’re not waffling.” Ben assured and Martin agreed, standing up and giving his friend a pant on the shoulder, “I’m gonna use the loo. Hold down the fort.” He teased, “And make sure this troublesome Waffler gets our drinks.” He joked sending Hailey a good natured smile. He’s kidding. Not teasing you. Just. Kidding. She reminded herself as she watched the man go. 

“I’ll get your beers.” She murmured, a bit flustered, now that the man, what did his friend call him? Bammy? Well now that Bammy’s attention was focused on her. He shook his head, reaching a hand out and falling just short of touching her hand. Hailey jumped slightly, eyes widening.

“I’m sorry!” He said, voice genuinely concerned. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” He assured, putting his hand down. God he had a way of screwing things up with every pretty girl he met. “I just had one more question.”

“Th-That’s what you said last time.” She reminded, smiling softly and blushing down at her shoes. Ben laughed and scratched the back of his neck.

“You’re right. Well what will one more hurt?” He joked lightly, watching her as she smiled at her shoes. “By the way, my names Ben.” He said, hesitating before offering her a hand to shake. Hailey looked up and regarded the hand a moment before taking it.

“Hailey.” She said in greeting, nodding her head mostly to herself. “Ben. Not Bammy. Short for Benjamin. What kind of name is Bammy anyway? Benjamin, is of Hebrew origin, did you know? You probably knew. And it's meaning is "son of the right hand.". As in God's right hand. It's Biblical... Obviously if it's involving God's right had... Oh God. I’m sorry. I’m waffling again. I just. I read that somewhere. Can’t remember where though. I’m sorry.” Way to go you numpty! She scolded herself. Only Anna was used to her mumbling and ranting, and endless supply of useless information.

“Hush, you’re fine.” He assured offering her a smile. “But if I remember correctly I had one more question.” He said, turning the conversation back to where it had been. Ha! Usually her was the one waffling and getting off track! “That place you were telling me about? With the comfy red booths?”

“Pottlers.” She reminded nodding slightly. He probably needed directions, since he wasn’t from London and all. I wonder if that man was his partner? They did look rather friendly.. Before she could ask him interrupted her thoughts with another one of his deep baritone laughs. 

“Right, Pottlers.” He nodded before once again scratching at the back of his neck. something he did when he was nervous, she noticed. Why would someone like him be nervous?“

A bloke can’t go there alone can he?” He hinted, not being able to believe his was asking his waitress for dinner, “Would a true Londoner like yourself like to accompany... For tour guide purposes?” He asked, smiling at her and waiting for an answer. He hoped she said yes. 

Hailey opened her mouth slightly in surprise. Did he just ask me to dinner? 

“Did you just ask me to dinner?” She asked, not realizing that it had slipped out of her lips until it was too late. Diarrhea of the mouth. That’s how it was, wasn’t it? She could either not get a single word out, or she couldn’t hold a single one in. What luck. Ben laughed and nodded , smiling softly up at her. Fucking dimples.

“Yes.” Ben nodded again, “I think I did just ask you to dinner. And now I think I’m just waiting for you to answer my request...” He trailed off, waiting patiently for her to either accept, or turn him down. He watched her open and close her mouth a few times, and he found himself truely hoping she wouldn't turn him down. She had some sort of charm about her, so he happily gave her time to think, and continued to wait. 

“I’d like that.” She nodded, and in the pit of her stomach, began regretting it right away. She was going to find away to muck this up. She’d either waffle and mumble through the whole thing. Or barely open her mouth, and stutter on every word.

No happy medium.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was a bit longer then the others. I hope it wasn't too long :)


	4. Tips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of teenage girl squealing, a Hailey says goodnight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so I was going to wait a bit to put this up, so I could type up some more chapters. But I got too excited so here it is.

 

Benedict gave her a grin before looking over at Martin who was returning from the loo. Hailey glanced over too and quickly stepped back, fixing her uniform and running a hand through her hair.

“Oh! I’m sorry. I’ll get those drinks.” She promised, turning quickly and keeping her head down as she went to get their beers. She took her time getting their drinks, taking deep calming breaths. She could pretty much hear Anna’s voice in her head instructing her. In... out... in... out...

She could feel herself relaxing, but she still didn’t want to have to turn around and face those stunningly beautiful eyes. Eventually she stalled long enough and turned, walking swiftly over and placing the beers down with a small ‘humf’.

She was being stupid. There was no way in hell a man like that could be interested in her. Not unless he had some serious serious drawbacks. Not that she had much room to talk. She was a psychological mess if she ever saw one.

The men thanked her and she nodded quickly before scooting down the bar to refill another man’s drink then disappeared into the break room once more.

And that’s where she stayed most of the remaining time of her shift. She popped out here and there to fill drinks and give checks. The woman who she’d chatted with a bit gave her a nice tip, which brightened her mood a bit. Not that she wasn’t already practically jumping out of her skin with the idea that the beautiful man at the might actually be interested in dinner.

Anna came in a few times, her section much more demanding than her own, which thankfully left her little time to talk. Hailey only got little bits, some much more crude than others.

“He asked you to dinner-” Out again. Back in. “You said yes-” Out once more. Then in again. “Holy fuck! You’ve got a date-” And again once more, “Climb him like a tree!”

“Analena!” Hailey scolded looking up from counting her earnings from the evening, “Can you stop?”

“No I can’t stop. My best chica is going on a date with Mr. Cheekbone, and I’ll be home feeding the cats!”

“We don’t own cats.”

“I could kill you.” Both girls were silent for a moment, regarding each other with stern looks before giggling. Anna moved to Hailey pulling her into a hug as they jumped up and down like teenagers again.

“You’re going on a date!” Anna squealed. Hailey nodded eagerly and pulled out of the hug, smile faltering slightly.

“What if I make a complete fool of myself?” She asked, voice gentle. Anna tisked and pulled her in for another hug, ruffling her hair like a child.

“Come on kido, you’re not that bad. You just gotta relax. Try not to get caught up. And if you think it’s going well. Try and explain what you’re feeling.” She soothed, wanting nothing more than to see her best friend be happy. Hailey sniffed slightly and nodded hugging back.

A woman named Amanda popped her head in. She was a perky little blonde thing, who wore shirts way too tight.

“Hey guys.” She said, lips smacking slightly. She was the bane of of this bar’s existence. Hailey could stand her just about as far as she could throw Anna. They both mumbled a ‘hey’ in return, breaking their personal moment.

“Uh, Tammy and I are here. So you can head out whenever.” Anna looked at the clock. They technology had about half an hour left, which could mean one more table, and one more shitty tip. She looked down at Hailey.

“Come on, say goodbye to your boy, and let’s get out of here early. We can go home and rent a movie.” She said, grabbing her coat and purse.

A date. Leaving early. Only one attack. And a movie night. This was shaping into a great day. She pulled her own coat on, a heavy leather jacket, and pulled on a wool hat that Anna’s mother had knitted her.

“Bye Amanda.” She said, brushing by the woman, who she tried to talk to as little as humanly possible. Which in her case was a simple ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’.

“Call me Manda, Hails.” She stopped for a moment, in the door to the bar, and grunted slightly in response.

“Don’t call me that.” She managed, before turning and shaking her head as she walked behind the bar, nodding politely at Tammy, who was much much more tolerable. It was only 9:30 and the bar was still plenty busy.

After a small internal battle, Hailey pulled the hat down farther on her head and walked as confidently as possible down to the two men who were engaged in a slightly drunken argument. She smiled and tapped on the bar to get their attention.

  
  


Tap. Tap.

“Hello.” Ben stopped laughing and closed his mouth looking up at the sound of her voice, and the soft tapping on the bar. He nearly frowned. She was wearing a slightly oversized coat, and a grey hat.

“Hey, going somewhere?” He asked, voice showing some slight disappointment. He watched as she rocked back and forth slightly on her heels.

“My shift is over,” She explained, making some sort of gesture towards the front door, “I’m heading home. And I wanted to say goodbye...” Her voice trailed off slightly and her eyes scanned the wood of the bar, like it might hold the answer to some of the questions swimming just behind those blue eyes.

“Oh.” Clear disappointment this time. He didn’t quite know what to say. He didn’t think she’d be going this early.

“I just wanted to say, I apologize for-” He listened as she was interrupted by Martin this time.

“Apologize? You haven’t a thing to be sorry for! You were a pleasure... And Benny here can’t wait to take you to dinner.” Ah. Dinner. Ben sure hadn’t forgotten that. She smiled and he couldn’t help but smile to, because when she truly smiled, it was something special. And when she blushed, well... Ben had to shake the thoughts away. He barely knew her. She was beautiful. That was obvious. But he knew nothing more than that she was a shy bartender.

“I’m apologizing for the woman who works the next bar shift.” She admitted, sheepishly, like she knew she shouldn’t be saying this. “Amanda can be a bit of a terror.” She admitted, before laughing, “Well, more than a bit.”

Martin laughed, slamming his fist on the table, and Ben frowned. He always was the lightweight. And now he watched as he made Hailey jump back surprised.

“Martin, don’t.” He said, kicking the man’s shin. Martin let out a string of curses, causing Ben to blush. His friend, however a great friend, was making this hard on him, so he looked at the nervous woman in front of him.

“Here, you give me your number. So I can text you about dinner, and Martin here will tip you, because this Amanda doesn’t sound worthy.” he smiled, winking. He watched her cheeks heat up again and couldn’t help but smile wider as he took his phone out and handed it to her.

He waited a moment before accepting his phone back and nudging Martin to pay her. The drunk fumbled a moment before handing her a few notes.

“Thank you, have a nice night.. I hope to talk to you soon.. B-Bye.” The stutter. It was starting to grow on him. He watched with a small frown as she went from behind a the bar, and the waitress from early came out handing her a purse.

He couldn’t take his eyes away as he tried to soak in everything. The way her hips moved as they walked away. The way her face relaxed in the presence of the other woman. Obviously a great friend. He couldn’t help but find himself hoping he would one day be able to relax her like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! Once again feel free to tell me if any of my information is wrong! And to all the people who have commented already thank you so so much! You make me smile!


	5. 'Sex'ting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Martin gets a little too drunk, Ben and Hailey set up their date, and Anna teases.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a long time I'm sorry. I just have been so busy. I don't get home from school until well after seven. Then I must eat and study and bathe. So I'm sorry :(

 

 

Ben and Martin only had one more beer before paying the tab and heading out. Hailey was right. Amanda was just short of hellish.

The two men got outside and shivered at the cool air. Ben hailed a cab for Martin, who was just short of pissed and gave his friend a clap on the back,

“See you tomorrow. Bright and early.” He smirked slightly listening to him groan and slip into the car.

“Amanda is going to kill you for allowing me to get shitface on a work night.” Martin said, shivering slightly from the idea of wrath of his wife. Ben let out a small bark of laughter shaking his head.

“No no. She’s going to kill you for being an idiot and getting shitfaced on a work night. Send her my love, Martin. We’ll all get together soon. Maybe you can come over for dinner.” He offered sending the impatient cabbie a ‘sorry’ look.

“Yeah,” Martin nodded, “Maybe she can meet your new girlfriend.” He teased making himself crack up. Ben rolled his eyes and shut the door, not even bothering to argue with the drunken man.

Ben waited a few minutes in the cold before finally getting his own cab and climbing in. He gave his address and spend the whole ride home looking at his phone. He wanted an excuse to text her. He didn’t want to come off as desperate.

Benedict got home and went straight to his kitchen looking at the schedule on the fridge. Nothing Friday after filming. But filming didn’t get over until eight. Good he could have Martin and Amanda over that night. If they were free of course. He checked saturday. Filming got over at 5 that day. So that’s give him enough time to shower and get ready for a seven o’clock dinner.

Ben found his script and took his phone out before plopping down on the sofa and opening it up to the page they’d be working on tomorrow. He clicked on Hailey’s name and smiled at her last name. Hailey Black. That was a pretty name.

_Hey, Hailey. It’s me. Benedict. I was just wondering if you were free on Saturday night for dinner?_

There. Sent.

 

Hailey and Anna were settled on the sofa, lights turned off and movie turned up loud. It was the movie Grease, one of their favorites. Anna sighed dreamily.

“I wouldn’t mind a bad boy like Danny.” She admitted. Hailey rolled her eyes resting her head on the arm of the sofa.

“Your last boyfriend was a secretary. The one before that worked at a library..” She reminded her friend of her lack of bad boy boyfriend. Anna scoffed and whacked Hailed on her leg causes Hailey to kick Anna lightly.

There was about to be a full on brawl when Hailey heard her cellphone ding. They both stopped and Anna lunged for the phone. Hailey jumped after her.

“Oh Hailey.” She pretended to read, “You’re sooo beautiful! I just want to shag you into next Tuesday!” Hailey snatched the phone from her friend and opened the text with a scowl.

‘Hey, Hailey. It’s me. Benedict. I was just wondering if you were free on Saturday night for dinner?’  She grinned at the message and Anna peeked over her shoulder.

“Aww! Stop, he’s adorable! Hailey text him back. Right now.” Hailey laughed blushing and opened a new text message to Benedict.

**Hey Benedict. I’d love to go to dinner then.** Hailey showed the text to Anna before sending it. Anna hummed taking the phone and retyping it.

**Hey Benedict, I think I’m free Saturday. What time? :)** Anna showed her the text. “This shows you are interested, but not desperate. But you do want to see him because of the smiley face.”  Hailey’s lips made a small ‘o’ shape as she nodded and hit send.

“Thanks Anna.. How do you know all this stuff about guys anyway?” She asked, looking over at Anna who was once again relaxing and watching the movie.

“Most of the stuff I know my sister taught me.” She admitted, shrugging, “ I was shit with boys in middle school and I used to text her for help almost everyday.” Hailey laughed and her phone went off again.

_I do hope you’re free. How does Seven sound?_ Hailey grinned like an idiot and shower the message to Anna who gave her two thumbs up.

**Seven sounds good. You still want to go to that place in Pottlers?**

The place with the big red booths? Hailey grinned to herself and thought a moment. She wanted to seem interesting when she texted him. This was the easiest form of communication for her. She could think things through. And you don’t type with a stutter. And if she felt panicked she didn’t need to run to the bathroom. She could merely take a few moments to answer.

  
  


_Yes, ‘Bammy’. The one with the big comfy red booths. It’s called Don’s Den.._ Ben read the text and smiled to himself. Bammy. He found the use of the misshapen nickname rather adorable.

He was also a bit surprised about the cheekiness in the text. He would have never have thought that she could be like that. Then again.. He had only spoken to her for a little while. There were millions of things left to find out about this woman. And he was excited to discover each and every thing.

**Oh my apologies. The comfy red booths it is. I’ll pick you up at seven then? Do you mind motorbikes? You can say no. I have a car too.** He didn’t expect her to. But it was worth asking. Maybe once she trusted him better he’d be able to get her on one. He waited a few moments, phone held tightly in his hand as he read the scene over and over. And he couldn’t help but grin and open the text right away when his phone vibrated.

_You have a motorbike? You didn’t seem the type, not that you seem a type. You know what I mean.. But I’ve never been on one before. They seem a bit dangerous. Are you positive you won’t get us killed?_ He smiled at the text. She even found a way to waffle a bit over text. And he found that completely endearing.

**I won’t get us killed. But I’ll take the car. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.**

_I doubt it’s that bad. You have helmets, yeah?_

**Of course I do, I’m not that reckless?**

_That reckless? Assuming you’re a bit reckless?_

**Of come now. I’m not reckless. I’m perfectly ordinary!**

_Perfectly ordinary? Sounds boring. We’ll take the motorbike._

**Right then. Motorbike it is. I should go to bed. I’ve got work early. I’ll see you Saturday at seven. Goodnight, Hailey.**

_See you then. Goodnight._

Ben put his phone in his pocket and grabbed his script before going up to his room. He put the phone on the charger and went to his bathroom to wash up for bed.

He changed and climbed into bed letting out a yawn before settling down. Ben was usually asleep before his head even hit the pillow. But tonight he spent nearly half an hour rolling Hailey around in his head. Little did he know he’d be thinking about her a lot in his few day wait for Saturday.

 

Hailey couldn’t stop grinning at her phone. She was going out with Ben. A nice, handsome man. And she was going to ride a motorbike!

“You’re grinning like an idiot. Unless he’s sent you a photo of his cock, you shouldn’t be that please.” Anna commented, barely even looking up from the movie that was starting to wrap up on the screen. Hailey nearly choked on her own spit.

“Jesus Christ!” She gaped. “Anna, really?” Anna just laughed and shrugged her shoulders as if to say ‘Why not?’. Hailey hit her before standing up and stretching. “Not everyone is a skag like you, Ann.”

“I’m not a skag. You’re a prude.” She resorted, not moving from her spot on the cozy sofa.

“Not a prude, just a socially handicapped, co-dependant, OCD, slightly neurotic, panic prone single woman.” She said, mouth in a straight line. She was being serious. Anna nodded and gave a sad smile.

“Right. Well my lovely co-dependant flatmate. Go to bed.” She turned the telly off and stood up herself, giving Hailey a half hug, “Goodnight.”

“Night then.” She mumbled before making her way to her bedroom which was located on the first floor by the kitchen. Hailey stripped down into her knickers before climbing sleepily into bed. She considered washing her face so she wouldn’t break out. But her room was warm. And her bed was soft. And she could do that in the morning.

She settled down into her covers and let her eyes fall shut. She felt exhausted. But her mind was racing. A nightly thing for her. So she did what the doctor said. She laid there and reviewed her entire day. Start to finish. It helped her calm down. Some nights she got through her entire day and still felt awake. Other nights she didn’t get past breakfast before passing out. Tonight was more like the first. she kept replaying the bar over and over. And she re-read each text in her head until finally exhaustion took over and she was out cold. But the images of Ben thankfully transferred over to her dreams.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this :)


	6. Always Running Late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben is always late. Which sets Hailey on edge. Can they get through a proper date with each other and their differences?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so sorry this took so long! I had a big crisis with my friend and I haven't been well enough to type. I'm sorry, I hope this makes up for it!

 

 

Ben got through the work week, and thankfully the dinner with Martin and Amanda, will little to no trouble. Of course he got hounded a bit by Amanda about the waitress from the bar. Like where is he taking her? What’s she like? Does he think it’ll last? Will Wanda and Tim like her? Does she want kids?

All good questions. Most he couldn’t answer, but some he could. Where was he taking her? That’s easy. He was taking her to her favorite restaurant. Don’s Den. And he hoped she’d love it. Not that there was any reason she wouldn’t. Unless she found his company ruins the experience. What’s she like? Well, she seems wonderful. A bit nervous. But pretty. And funny. And sweet. Did he think it would last? He hadn’t a clue! He wanted it to.. maybe. Or maybe they’d go on the date and everything about her would bother him. That’s why people dated, wasn’t it? To get to know them? Will his parents like her? His mother would any woman he brought home as a possible wife. Actually. Not /any/ but probably most. And Tim. Well he’d see. Does she want kids? That’s not something you ask someone before you even go on the first date.

But here he was. Getting ready for his date with one of the most.. peculiar woman he had ever met. He smiled to himself as he got home from work and climbed the stairs of his home to his ensuite bathroom. He showered and shaved, before getting out and dressing. He must of tried on several outfits before picking on. And by the time he did that he was almost late.

He settled on a nice pair of maroon trousers, a white button up, and a grey blazer. He looked himself over in the mirror and nodded at his reflection. Good. He looked good. Once he pulled on some back dress shoes he went to his bathroom and gave his teeth a good brushing before putting on a dab of cologne.

He pulled on his leather jacket and went to his garage, opening the door and putting his helmet on. Ben pulled out of his driveway, already around ten minutes late.

 

Hailey sat on Anna’s bed, playing with the edge of her friend’s duvet, feeling bored out of her mind, “Ann.. You’ve been doing my hair for like thirty minutes now.” She complained, “The curls will be out by the time he gets here anyways.” Anna shook her head, rolling her eyes.

“They will not, because you’re not going to touch them got it? Once I’m done with you hair, I’m doing your makeup, then we can pick out an outfit for you to wear!” Hailey groaned and jerked away, standing off the bed and going to her friend’s mirror.

She took a long look at herself, face looking rather plain, but hair looking absolutely wonderful. Hailey had never seen her own hair look so soft or pretty before.

“You’re a bloody miracle worker!” Anna shook her head at the compliment and got up to pull her friend back over, sitting her down once more and turning off the curling iron.

“Far from it. You’ve got to have the right materials to make pretty art.” She smiled, opening up her make up kit. “Now, we’re gonna make those blue eyes pop! Got it?”

Another half an hour flew by, this one with much more giggling as Hailey tried to get all her nervousness out before the date. She really didn’t want to make a fool of herself. She was going to do this right.

After applying a light shade of lipgloss Anna pulled back and grinned ear to ear, “Oh, my beauty, you look stunning!” She giggled to her blushing friend, “Come look.” She ordered, pulling her by the arm and pushing her to look in the mirror. The lips were simple, just a light pink, not too much different than her natural lip color.

The concealer wasn’t caked on. Just enough to smooth her porcelain skin. It was the eyes that were really different. Hailey hardly wore make up, but when she did.. She had no idea if she was applying it right, so she usually looked even less attractive when she wore it. But Anna.. Anna had made her look beautiful!

She’s applied a small line of black eyeliner, and some shimmery light blue eyeshadow that made her blue eyes even bluer.

“Anna, holly shit..” She whispered leaning in closer as if the closeness would change her reflection. But it didn’t. She remained looking this was.

Anna laughed and once again tugged her away, out of her bedroom and down the hallway to where Hailey slept. They went in and Anna began to rip apart her closet.

Hailey laid on the bed and watched her friend.

“You dress like a fucking nun!” She complained, pulling out a few articles of clothing and throwing them onto the floor near the bed, “Jesus Christ, we need to take you shopping. Oh! Get dressed! He should be here in like five minutes!” She shouted, pointing to the pile of clothing on the floor, “Go!” before dashing out to go get her friend’s phone and purse and a nice pair of shoes. Thank God they wore the same size.

Hailey got up and look the outfit over making a face, but she decided to trust Anna. Once dressed she looked in the mirror at her final product. Anna had left out a wine knee length circle skirt that she hadn’t work in years, thank God it still fit. With that was a white tank top that she tucked into the waist high skirt. With that was a light blue blazer that she forgot she even owned. Actually, she was pretty sure it had been Anna’s at one point. She liked the way the outfit came together so she dug through her closet and found a white pair of converse trainers.

She made her way into the living room untying the shoes as she went. She she got to the bottom of the stairs Anna came over to her and snatched the shoes from her hands.

“You can’t wear trainers with a skirt, you dildo!” She scolded thrusting a pair of white heels into her hands, “These are low so you won't die. And here. Stockings.” Hailey took both and gave Anna a look.

“Don’t call me a dildo... Are these thigh highs? You want me to wear these? Are you serious?” This was far from something she would usually wear.

“Dildo. Dildo. Dildo, yes they are thigh highs. Just in case a hand wanders up your ski-” Hailey cut her off with a scoff, walking away and plopping on the sofa so she could pull the stockings on. She placed the shoes on and did the strap before standing again.

“Am I up to par?” She asked sarcastically. Anna looked her over a moment before going to their front closet and pulling out a light blue scarf, “Here!” She laughed going to her friend and putting the scarf around her neck, “Your phone and wallet are both in your white purse by the door. It’s five after so he should be here any minute!”

Hailey’s stomach dropped. He was going to be here. She was going to have to go on a one on one date with him. Jesus she wasn’t ready.

Seeing her friend go from calm to high stung in half a second was something Anna was used to. But it was important that Hailey kept her cool today of all days. So together they sat on the sofa, taking nice deep breathes, and waiting for Ben to come and pick her up.

 

Ben cursed loudly to himself as he was forced to stop at yet another red light. He glanced at his watch and his stomach dropped. It was already seven twenty. He was twenty minutes late. She was going to think he wasn’t coming..

The light turned green and he quickly pulled off, speeding down the street and passing a car that was going way too fucking slow. He turned down her street and kept driving, mumbling the memorized address over and over again. He finally pulled up and let out a breath of relief. Half an hour late.

Benedict parked the bike and left his helmet on the seat before fixing his hair and jacket and jogging up to the second level flat and knocking confidently on the door, smile on his face, hoping she wasn’t too upset.

 

Five minutes went by and Anna checked her watch. It was ten after and he still wasn’t there yet. Probably traffic. She chose not to tell Hailey his lateness. It would only set her into a frenzy.

Another five minutes gone and Anna could see Hailey getting antsy, “Maybe we should put on the news. I’m sure there was an accident or something.” She assured her friend, heart breaking when her face fell.

“How late is he?” She asked, voice fairly uneven. Only an expert on her neurotic behavior could know that tiny quiver was enough to foreshadow a full blown attack.

“Only about fifteen minutes. Hailey it’s nothing. He would have texted you if it was something important.” She eased, rubbing the smaller woman’s back. Hailey shook her head, crossing her arms like a child.

“Not if he decided he had better plans and he’s standing me up. Then he would let me get all dolled up for nothing!” She raised her voice a bit at the end, fists curling. There was silence before Anna snorted.

“No one says ‘dolled up’ anymore, what year do you live in?” She teased, trying her very best to keep the mood light. Hailey would cry and ruin her makeup. Hailey offered a smile and nodded.

“I liked the 60s. I think I’ll live then.” She decided. Anna laughed and kissed the top of her head before turning the telly on and flipping to their usual news channel.

Another five minutes.

Then another.

And another. He was half an hour late and even Anna was starting to lose hope in this Ben guy. She opened her mouth to suggest another girls night in when there was a knock at the door.

Both girls sprung up and Hailey paled, cheeks turning pink, while Anna grinned ear to ear jumping up and down. Both girls took a moment to try and calm themselves and there was another knock at the door.

“Coming!” Anna sang moving towards the door before Hailey could and flinging it open. She had to bite down on her tongue to keep from whistling at the man who stood waiting for her best friend. Hailey was a lucky girl. But her joy couldn’t show. She had to play mother. Arms crossing Anna put on a serious face.

“Ben I presume?” She asked in a very business like tone.

 

When a woman who wasn’t Hailey opened the door of the flat he was knocking at her nearly had a heart attack. But he quickly recognized the woman as her friend from the bar. He smiled and could see her threatening to smile back before putting on an overly business air.

“Ben I presume?” She asked and he nearly laughed. But that probably wasn’t the right thing to do at the moment. He saw Hailey poke her head out from behind the door and almost stammered when he spoke. She looked beautiful.

“I.. Yes, that’s me. Ben.” Smooth! He scolded himself. But he couldn’t pull his eyes from Hailey’s face, “I’m so sorry I’m late. Work ran late. And then I ran late.. Then I hit every single red light on the way here.” he explained quickly, risking at glance at Anna.

He hoped Hailey wasn’t upset. And he hoped even more that she still wanted to go out with him for the evening, “I have a problem with time management..” He admitted sheepishly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Anna start to grin.

“Perfect!” She announced, “Hailey is always five minutes early! You’ll make little on time babies!” She teased and Ben chuckled as Hailey went bright red, shaking her head in a way that made her curls bounce about her head.

“Anna, shut up.” She ordered in a quiet snippy voice before picking her purse off the chair closest to the door and draping it across her chest, fixing her skirt and walking back to the door, cheeks still rosy.

“Are you ready to go?” He asked, trying to look her over as discreetly as possible. Long pale legs disappearing under a knee length skirt. Then just enough cleavage to make him wonder.. but not enough to give it all away. He liked it. She nodded and he offered her his arm, “Then let’s head out. See you, Anna.” He waved her off before turning and leading Hailey down the stairs and outside, handing her a helmet with a grin.

She smiled back and his heart lept. Tonight was going to be a wonderful night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is what I was sorta imagining Hailey's outfit to look like http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=120137992  
> So click on that if you wish :)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you've enjoyed this. I'm going to post chapters as quick as possible.


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